I've decided to reduce my pricing. I've removed albums from my packages and updated my prices to reflect the change. My 5 hour package is currently 1920. Albums may still be purchased along with other upgrades and options. I think this is fair for clients and myself and I want packages to be fair for the both of us. Happy 2024!
Heads up.
Ive been struggling off and on for a good while about having social media accounts. I “need” them for business, but do I? They absolutely have their place but mine have become a distraction more than a tool. I'm on them way too much with no purpose or business results. I receive spam all the time and people or bots trying to constantly hack them, so I think I will be at least pausing from them for a while. I need to refocus on Christ and dive into the word some more instead of being online. I'm not sure how many people are browsing my site or blog, but feel free to shoot me an email anytime. I intended on having lots of new landscape images after this week but had to get home to fix our main water line. Hopefully I'll be able to get back out and shoot in the mountains soon, but we shall see. Hope everyone has a killer week.
Hey There.
I just wanted to say hi. Things are well. I photographed a wedding this past Saturday and it was so cool to be a part of it. It was more of a church service than a typical wedding and it was so cool. It wasn't huge, very boutique and family oriented. I love photographing weddings because I get to build personal relationships with my clients and get to be a part of their emotional event. It's like I'm part of them and more than just a photographer. I'm not there just to take photos. I want to be emotionally connected and invested. It helps to capture more real and personal images. Anyhow, have a good rest of the week!
Dust, moisture and gratitude.
I photographed crush today for Harney Lane Winery. The early morning sun was gorgeous and these people worked their butts off picking grapes and were having fun doing it. Things like that remind me to be appreciative of any situation I'm in, good or bad, and to do things with a joyful attitude. “Good and Bad” are derived from our own perspective and attitude. Staying positive in all things can be easier said than done, but I know whenever I've looked back, positivity has always been the best roue to take.
I love photographing raw, real, and organic people and places. Being in the vineyards surrounded by moisture, dust, equipment and people helps me connect myself, and others, to the feel and hard work it takes so many people to run a successful operation. I love photography and the people I get to surround myself with.
Rejuvenation.
I absolutely hate deleting past clients images! My clients mean more to me than a customer and I just love what I do, but at some point I just don’t have the storage to keep everything. Sometimes I do choose a handful to hang onto, but that also only last so long because of storage, and because I am trying to ever improve and expect to have better and better work. The point is to share my best work always, improve for myself, and most importantly for my clients, so I just can’t keep it all! This is a form of rejuvenation right?! Look through past work to see how I’ve improved, remember past memories I’ve been able to share with people, and move on. We can’t look back too much, but I love what I do and get excited with my improvement. I hate to say this, but sometimes I get disgusted with my past work, not because of clients, but because of myself. I always want to offer them timeless work and for them to be happy, but man, sometimes I look back and am not happy. Photos do jolt memories though right? That’s what they are there for. Good or bad. Even bad memories can be memorable. I have some bad experiences from this past year, but those experiences helped me to further appreciate the little good that may have been present.
Zion National Park
We are headed to Zion tomorrow so be on the look out for images. I am super excited to go. We have been twice before, but this time we will be camping and hiking in. Sunrise is at 6:13 so I plan on being up at 5 am. As I’ve gotten older getting an early start in the morning has become more important. Gotta get that first morning light. Great light is everything. We plan on being out pretty much all day. That will give us plenty of time to explore, relax and recharge while beating some of the direct sun and heat, getting some food, ultimately leading to more exploring in hopes to get some evening light as well. It’s gonna be a long day, but it’s okay, seeing certain things and taking it all in is totally worth it. Some people will never experience places like Zion, let alone get up early, or be out until sunset to fully experience all of the details and nooks and crannies a place like Zion has to offer. I want to enjoy all I can with the time I have. Nature is beautiful and has a lot to offer and I do not want to miss out on it, so I intend on taking advantage of it.
Please look around my site. I offer prints of my landscape and shoot weddings, events, seniors, models, etc., so please click here if you are interested in working together.
Humility
I always try to stay grounded and humble. It used to be hard to differentiate the difference between humility and confidence in who I am and my work. I will be the first to tell you there are a ton of amazing photographers around the states and I probably used to have underlying jealousy of them. I love art, but also wanted to have a little bit of their creativity, and would probably be envious of them. I'm not very creative. I give slight direction to my clients, but I love capturing them in their moments by allowing them to be them. It creates authenticity. 95% of people aren't models and aren't necessarily comfortable in front of the camera, and it shows up if they aren't comfortable. I hate being in front of the camera. It's not easy, but if you can just be you, lots of amazing moments can be captured pretty easily. Anyway, I have come to love my work, and my clients even more, and want them to love their final images. I’m, to this day, nervous of their response when I hand over their photos or album. Not because I don't love the photos, but because I want them to love them. Not because I'm not confident in my ability, even though I'm always trying to become better, but because I need to always stay humble and grounded.
Dependent
As a christian, we should only be dependent upon God, not the world. Whether that’s materialism or acceptance, but being a human being means we are in the world, and have to partake in it. I don’t say that coming from a place of being better than anyone. I am far from perfect. I do take identity in my art though. I have been an artist of many mediums since I could draw. That’s what I started with. Drawing, painting, computer graphics and finally landing on photography. I love the land. I absolutely cherish being in the mountains and rugged coast lines and being able to share those exploratory and quite moments with my wife and clients. I am very blessed and grateful of my clients. 99% of them are amazing. Life is just so up and down and it really shouldn’t matter because my identity should always be in Christ, not the world or my photography, but that’s easier said than done at times. My clients are far more to me than money. I appreciate their confidence in me and want to please them with their photos, my passion of people and photography, and dedication to the entire artistic process. It doesn’t matter what I am photographing, I love my clients, photography and the freedom from the stresses of the world. Consistency is key, but not from false entities. Sometimes I ramble, so hopefully this makes sense. I am just extremely grateful for photography and that I can share it with people is some form or another.
Be Yourself
For a long time I have had to not be myself. I’ve always been an outsider and sometimes felt wrong for that. I have gotten much better, but do sometimes struggle with it still. I want to please people but also don’t care what people think. I guess I want to please the people I care about more than anything. I could really care less what the world thinks. As an artist, shock or uniqueness helps you stand out. There are a lot of talented photographers that I heavily admire. Part of it is that their work is amazing, but the bigger part of it is that they don’t seem to care who thinks what, and I admire that. We have to be ourselves and stand out from the sea of photographers. I don’t want to be like everyone else and hop onto the latest trend. Trends are getting to a point that they are the norm. Stop trying to grab peoples attention with the latest challenge or trend and create consistent quality work and provide superb customer service. Honesty, hard work, and dedication go a long way.
Traveling Photography
If you’ve seen my work, not only do I photograph people, I also love photographing landscapes. Sometimes Amy and I both go or I go myself, either way the quite and exploration of new scenery is extremely calming. We get to see flowers, bugs, wildlife, people clamming (Oregon) and of course mountains, beaches or whatever landscape is in front of us. We have also taken our kids on lots of these trips, local or not, and they have seen a ton and learned a ton. There is a spot locally that has wild flowers every May and the first time we went out we found a turtle in the river and it has been there every year after that. Maybe not a huge deal, but it has been a memorable and cool experience for all of us. Exploring different spots also gives me fresh locations for client sessions. We love traveling and when we get to we get to meet new people and see even more landscapes. If you’d like to explore landscape with us, contact me and we can book a session. We love AZ, CO, OR, you name it. We’d love to hang out and shoot.
Blessed
The sun is shinning and the weather is pretty perfect. I’m not a fan of long term extreme conditions such as snow or excessive heat, but they are a part of life. Visiting the snow or Arizona in the summer is fun for only so long. Regardless, that’s life. Ups and downs, good and bad, we have to deal with it all. The weather scenario might sound silly to talk about, but I am grateful for it all. Of course I have my favorite time of the year like fall, but we must enjoy and endure every day. Each day has something to offer and learn from any situation. I try and not act like a spoiled brat because I have no idea what’s around the corner that I may feel is a positive or beneficial to my goals. Of course that’s also easier said than done, but as I have matured, it has gotten easier. Who are we to say what is good or bad or what is beneficial or not? As long as we are making the most proper decision we genuinely think is correct, there really isn’t more we can do. Life will fall as it will fall and every situation and condition has value. Analyze, adjust, and thrive.
My Passion
My clients are my passion. They entrusted me with capturing them and that means the world to me. I am grateful and blessed to be trusted to that level and couldn’t be more thrilled. My goal is to make the process as simplified as possible. It’s not for me to add stresses to the day, it’s my job to help clients relax, feel comfortable with me, and to enjoy themselves, regardless of the type of session. I’d love to explore and shoot if you’d love to explore and shoot.
Fashion, Family, Boudoir, Wedding, Engagement and more available.
https://kevinlaytonphotography.squarespace.com/connect
For the love.
I love photography. I love nature and people. I even more so love putting them together. The raw background, whether it's grean and lush or dry and crisp, offers varying contrast to the people regardless of the type of session being shot. I photograph weddings, engagements, lifestyle and boudoir. People's personalities are beautiful and bodies are a work of art. Free flowing clothes of women with simplistic and clean cut outfits of men, with the contrasting background, compliment each other very well. I genuinely enjoy the joy clients experience during my sessions. They are real, raw, easy going and I do everything I can to make your entire experience working with me just that. My clients mean the world to me and I am privelaged to work with them.